Hello community,This is my first post to this great website. Shining Force 1 and 2 are some of my favorite games of all time. I remember going to the local rental store to rent out this particular game and returned it late on purpose cause i couldn't let it go.....(breaks into "let it go" from frozen.) #sorrynotsorry Despite this, i have always had minor grievances with some of the artwork used in the sprites, be it inconsistent or just nonsensical. When I started having a nostalgia trip on Shining Force I bought it on steam and played with the "mods" available on the steam workshop. While I enjoyed the changes I saw, I was inspired to do something myself and make the Shining Force Game I've always wanted. And then i discovered this website, and the awe-inducing editors available for both games and I’ve had a blast doing some of my own editing.

I am happy to release v2.1 of the Graphic Upgrade mod!

=========================================================Some people who deserve credit:

And a special thanks to Dan/steve for allowing me to use some of their artwork, here is their website. They are doing some neat things over there. I will be placing my artwork there for everyone to see.Shining Force Mods Website:http://sfmods.com/whats-new/posts/773/

Also, Lobo has been a great partner in fleshing out some ideas for this mod. I'm very grateful to have his company.

And at last, all hail Rubixcuber, for his SF1 Editor is what made this mod possible.

Alot of what is here wouldnt have been possible without the folks mentioned above, please check them out.

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Plans:None at the moment, if you run into any issues with the new sprites, let me know and i'll correct it asap.This will probably be my last update for a little while. But I am still active while working on other things, so if you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Here is a preview of some of the changes:

Keep in mind, these are IPS files, not the actual roms, you will need to do the following to use this mod:1. Have the original .bin file of Shining Force2. Have the Lunar IPS patcher. (This is what i used and tested with)3. Download my graphic patch, and apply that to the .bin file.4. Profit...

Version History

WARNING: SPOILER!

Version 2.1Updated Lowe's Map sprites, he is now using the enemy palette to have his hair match closer to his battle sprite and portrait.

Similar to Lowe, Varios has had a palette swap as well, he too uses the enemy pallete, so he can have a light blue armor set that matches closely to his portrait. He even has a mantle, similar to Pelle.

Gong's attack animation has been tweaked, shoutout to Runesamurai for this idea.

All magic spell icons have been colored in.

Includes fixes from 2.0's initial release

Version 2.0The biggest part of this update is the new Battle sprite layout, which has been extended to support more characters having their own battle sprite. like:Centaur characters/Alef/Torasu. Open the rom in the SF1 Editor and see the new layout for yourself.(and the new sprites for the centaurs )For Alef, Torasu and Adam, I had to have them join promoted due to current limitations with the battle sprites. Unless the editor is updated. I'm not 100% sure if this can be fixed.

Added a leg up piece to the centaur character idle animations.(used Pelle's sprite for the leg over at the Shining Force Mods website)

Diana has a slight tweak to her battle sprite and portrait palette, She now has a more Forest green look, while Hans still has his teal colors(lobo's suggestion, looks good to me )

Domingo now has a new battle sprite frame added to attack animation, so he doesnt look like he's chest bumping enemies into oblivion.

Lowe has been given his original hair color in portrait and battle sprite, his map sprite is still the dark blue(since that's the only blue in the palette available, i thought about using the enemy palette, but then he looks like he got a tan...so..)

The Imperial Mace had to be taken out due to technical issues with the editor(that sprite kept getting corrupted)I'll place the sprite up in the Shining Force Mods website if some want to utilize it(though it could use some more polish anyway) The Great axe has been restored in it's place.

A similar thing happened to the Oath Keeper, but replacing the the original Knightly saber sprite with Oath Keeper's, it has stopped being corrupted. The Knightly Saber now shares the same sprite as the Oath Keeper.

The Oath Keeper, thanks to Dan/Steve for their artwork, has been updated. The one i made was alright, but it pales in comparison to what they have come up with, nailed it in my opinion. The Knightly saber now shares this sprite too.

Tao and Anri have been given a slight makeover, Tao now has a blue outfit(since it looked more blue in the map sprite anyway) this carries over to the Promoted sprite. And the hair has made to be a little longer too, with an ear, similar to the unpromoted look.

Pelle, again thanks to Dan/Steve for the head portion.

The Steel Claymore now uses sprite 1, same as broad sword.

Version 1.9Added Oath Keeper (Elliot's sword) and Imperial Mace(Ramladu's weapon). These can be dropped and picked up by force members upon defeating these two. They, however have not been playtested.

Added a red fire sprite to be used during the ship scene after the circus battle.

New Maskless Kane sprite is now used.

New Non-scarred Kane sprite for scenes before prompt.

Version 1.8Added a merged patch for the Brothers Mod v2.2

Corrected sprite usage on arcane rod and holy scepter( it was selected for sprite 12, instead of 13)

Amon and Balbaroy tweaked in battle palette, Amon is now wearing purple gear in map, and battle sprites, armband is now gold in promotion.

Chaos Breaker: new sprite to be consistent with Shining Force 2.

corrected Torasu's hair color in his promoted battle sprite.

Kings are now more unique with their own map sprites/portraits.

Guards have also been given different color palettes, so they do not look like they go to the same store...(example: Guardiana is the default color, Alterone is more red, etc.)

The Centaur Guard at the Guardiana castle have been given a newer look. I mixed Pelle's lower half(don't laugh) and a promoted pldn's upper body. I made the centaurs use a blue palette, while the leader (the one that gets all jelly that you were chosen to be the leader) is given a green one.

The two centaur guards at Alterone Castle have the same treatment, they sport a red palette(to match the guards and king)

Carried over Tyadran's helmet-less Kane sprite to the Vanilla game patch, and Brothers mod.

Version 1.7Added a second sprite and portrait for Mishaela during the initial introduction in Alterone, (just make believe she's trying to fit in and be inconspicuous).

During the circus battle and thereafter, she will have her new sprite colors.After the circus battle, Mishaela is replaced with Kane during the cutscene (since she appeared there too, looked weird to have her in her undercover form after just revealing herself just minutes earlier), changed dialogue slightly so it makes sense.

I have tweaked Anri a little, in her map, battle, and portrait so they all match more accurately.

Version 1.6

Updated Mishaela's sprites to actually look like her.The Mishaela Sprite is based off of the GBA version of the game. It has been reworked to an extent to make it passable, the original rip can be found on the Spriters Resource website.The Sword of Light has been tweaked in color to better match it's map sprite.

Version 1.5 Updated the mage staffs to have new icons and tweaked the sprites. Wooden Staff: now has a green sash attached to it.Power Staff: Now renamed Mage Staff, it now uses sprite 12(same as wooden staff) and has a different color scheme.Guardian Staff: Now renamed Arcane Rod, has been tweaked slightly in color.Holy Staff: Now renamed Holy Scepter, also has been tweaked slightly in color.

The Arrows in the game have been changed too...Wooden Arrow, now has a more metal tip and feathers.Steel Arrow, is now darker and metal like,Elven Arrow now sports the same colors as the original icon (purple and pink/grey).

Version 1.4Changed Doom blade and katana palette to more closely resemble icon

Added a sense of motion for most enemy battle sprites.(some have moving parts, like the chimera)

updated sword animation and sprites and icons(Lengths, steel sword now has a red hilt)

(sword of light now uses sprite 4(same as sword of darkness) Just makes sense for the two to look similar by the hilt, and make the chaos breaker stand out more(other than a color change)Sword of Darkness and Dawnbreaker(playable kane mod patch) have been tweaked to compensate for this

Added blue flame to Doom blade for Hanzou.(It is highly recommended to keep Hanzou with the doom blade) as the flame will still show even if you change weapons, this is because to achieve the effect, the flames had to be drawn on hanzou's sprite and not the weapon). I have raised the damage to 30 to be on par with the Katana.

Version 1.3Changed Gort's unpromoted Portrait

Added motion to all characters(by changing the shading in frame 1 for most)

Changed Max's unpromoted attack animation(weapon placement)

Updated Tao's hair to be recolored better (it was a little too red)

Changed Gort's Helmet and hair color in battle mode, this is to match his new portrait.

Updated Centaur character's colors to make each one look more unique

Version 1.2Due to issues with the extend characters option(like every character looking like max in battle sprites) the promoted portraits will be deactivated. I will still make more and they are available to be previewed in the SF1 Editor. The Vanilla Shining force ips will not include these portraits for the time being. I have updated Luke and Gort's Battle Sprite to show more of the helmet. An issue with Lowe and Torasu's sprites have been corrected.

Version 1.1Added new promotion portraits to the Knight / Mage characters.

Here is a quick rundown of the changes:- Weapons(swords, axes, spears, and lances, staffs)- New weapon lengths for the swords.- Animations have been tweaked to work with the revised sword sprites( since some needed to be adjusted to fit the new models).- New Map/Battle sprites for some characters

First off, the weapons-------------------------------

It always bugged me that the swords in the game were so short and not epic for my taste. So i changed the 2 default sprites to be a little more logical. Nothing over the top, but i like these models better.

For the main swords you use throughout most of the game, the 2 default sword sprites have been changed. Now each sword looks more unique.Rusty Sword: weakest sword, and it showsArming Sword: standard issue, looks fineBroad Sword: looks like the one in the default icon nowSteel Claymore: The blade has a more greyish color scheme to it, it also uses a red hilt.Knightly Sword: Sharing the sprite to the Oath Keeper, this sword has a green Jewel.

Axes have been given a little makeover as well.

Hatchet: Replaces the hand axe and is now only 1 sided(hence the name)Twin axe: Now has a new handle (to make it more in line with the hatchet and battle axe) and threw some blue in itBattle axe: now looks more like a bridge between the Twin axe and heat axe/atlas' sprite.Atlas: Recolored to be more in line with the Item Icon

SpearsThe normal spear now has the little green sash on it in battle mode.The power spear is now what the default spear used to be.The Halberd also sports a red sash.Added the red dots on the Demon Lance.

Lances:The bronze looks....looks....bronze.. and it shares it's sprite with Steel and Chrome lances. (chrome lance now has the red tip like in the icon)

Staffs:The wooden staff now looks like a wooden stick.Mage Staff now uses the default color scheme and sprite of the original Wooden staff.Arcane Staff now uses a more advanced version of the mage's staff.Holy Scepter is now more holy.Demon Rod now sports those haunting red eyes. ( just two red dots...but that's all you need in the dark...)

Weapon Length changes:I have increased the length of the other swords used in the game, like the Doom Blade, chaos breaker, and sword of darkness.

Unique Weapon:Elliot's Oath Keeper. A big sword which sprite is based off of the Elliot's battle sprite. This sword can be wielded by anyone who is already able to wield most swords. It's current attack damage is 24. The weapon will drop upon his defeat, so make sure you have a spot available in whoever's inventory when he/she does the finishing blow.

Character sprite changes------------------------------

- First off, I love Max's look in the original, a testament to great character design... As for his legs though.... didn't care much for it, so bare....so .....chilly during those winter months....I decided he needed something, and after trying red or blue leggings i went with the white and for me, it just works. This is a just personal preference of mine, but i'd like to think if he fell over his naughty bits wouldn't be exposed

For his Promoted look, I really liked this change First i made it so he has a longer cape. His main armor is now dark grey metal and the cape green, with blue lapels. This has also been changed to his portrait and map sprites too.

- Lowe's hair is now visible in the battle sprite sequences

- Luke now shows wielding a sword on his map sprite, which carries over to his promoted sprite. It also annoyed me that Luke and Gort used more or less the same sprite when promoted, just their heads were different. Now his armor is blue to match his battle sprite(even wearing the helmet too, but you still can see his nose.

- Gort now has an axe visible on his unpromoted map sprite.

- Gong, why does he have a backpack if it's not gonna carry over to the battle sprite? For consistency sake, I removed the backpack so it matches the battle sprite better. I thought about just drawing the backpack on him in the battle sprite, buuuuuuuuut i decided against it. He is also much bigger now, as he is a Half-Giant, only makes sense for him to look the part. (thanks to Kobo for thinking of this idea)

- Alef has a a slight tint change in her portrait to be more in line with her map sprite, since she had a more reddish tint to her before. She also now has her own sprite, however it's only her promoted sprite for now, unless there is a way for the editor/game to support it, she'll have to join promoted.

-Torasu now uses his own sprite, but however, same as Alef he too will have to join promoted.

-Adam, same deal as Alef and Torasu.

- Anri/Tao now have a new battle sprite unpromoted/promoted. No more wizard pointy hat things, I like the hair being out to see, as of v2.0 with the added freedom of only Anri and Tao sharing, i made their hair a little longer in the promoted sprite.

- Mae and Ken have returned to their normal colors, Mae is grey-ish and Ken is brown. They now sport their own unique battle sprites.

-All other centaur characters have been given their own sprites, except Ken and Arthur(they had to share) since they looked very similar anyway.

- Amon and Balbaroy now have red shields in battle and map sprites. Amon has been tweaked to not look like she just stepped out of the freezer.

There are more changed in terms of graphics then what's shown in the preview and text, you'll just have to see them for yourself in game or in the editor

Well, it's technically not really a story change, but it'll make the beginning seem different to you. Again this is a personal preference, but i swapped the portraits for the king at Guardiana with the other Kings portraits. Let's just say i wanted to believe Santa Claus was the king there He just looks more of a happy, benevolent ruler than the original. Let's face it, the original's face just reads "i will sell you out in a heartbeat" like King Alterone does now.(Yeah, i know he was forced to, but still...King Santa Claus hits the feels better when he passes in my opinion)

As of v1.7, Mishaela has been replaced by Kane after the circus battle. See version history for explaination.

As of 1.9, Kane's portrait post helmet break wont be scarred, he'll receive his scar after the first clash with darksol and you find him at Prompt.

If you wanted to transfer these sprites over to your rom of choice, you need to do the following(especially for the battle sprites):1. Ensure that the palettes are exactly the same, this may require you to check each slot and adjust them to look just like the palette I have used. 2. Once that is done, you can then use the "GFX to/from Clipboard" function to move them to your rom.

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Last edited by Erikin84 on Fri May 11 2018 2:46am, edited 175 times in total.

This looks pretty interesting I'm definitely looking forward to see how you progress with this. I will check in again soon. I'm planning to do another run through with Tyadran's mod so this is perfect.

By the way welcome to the community I see this is your first post I'd like to greet you on behalf of everyone.

Yes, actually. I have updated the sprites for the promoted classes. Like Tao and Luke now have their hair in their promoted status too, this carried over to everyone using those sprites, so I've had to update the palettes for them too. It's been a challenge as the palettes for the battle sprites tend to get finicky when you're doing stuff to it (the main reason for the delay). I'm mostly done with it, i should have it released in by:Friday, March 9th 2018

Last edited by Erikin84 on Sat Mar 10 2018 4:19am, edited 1 time in total.

As opposed to what Runesamurai said, the mod works perfectly.If people don't notice, this is an ips patch.

To get it to work you need to first apply my mod's patch to a copy of the US Shining Force .bin, and then apply the graphics mod patch on top of that.

Hopefully this eliminates any confusion and problems getting it to work.

EDIT: It might also be a good idea to include a version of the mod for the regular game, without my changes, since some people may want to use your graphics but not my additions. Just a thought. In case you were unaware, your mod currently doesn't work with a normal copy of SF1 (I tried it).

Tyadran - Modding Sega Genesis games since 2013.Check me out on YouTube.

Tyadran - Modding Sega Genesis games since 2013.Check me out on YouTube.

Tyadran wrote:As opposed to what Runesamurai said, the mod works perfectly.If people don't notice, this is an ips patch.

To get it to work you need to first apply my mod's patch to a copy of the US Shining Force .bin, and then apply the graphics mod patch on top of that.

Hopefully this eliminates any confusion and problems getting it to work.

EDIT: It might also be a good idea to include a version of the mod for the regular game, without my changes, since some people may want to use your graphics but not my additions. Just a thought. In case you were unaware, your mod currently doesn't work with a normal copy of SF1 (I tried it).

Ah ok that must be what I did wrong.

EDIT: Yep that was the problem. It's working just fine now.

Double Edit: This mod is awesome. The swords and so many other things look so much better now!

Runesamurai wrote:I too wondered this. I'm sure it's possible since people have made custom portraits and battle sprites before. It would just be REALLY difficult. But yeah I'm sure it can be done since RotDD did it.

RotDD is a terrible example of what can be done with the editor.Making alternate battle sprites would be easy and is supported in the editor.Making alternate portraits I don't believe is supported. While hypothetically possible, you'd have to learn some assembly and program that in yourself.

Tyadran - Modding Sega Genesis games since 2013.Check me out on YouTube.

Tyadran - Modding Sega Genesis games since 2013.Check me out on YouTube.

Runesamurai wrote:I too wondered this. I'm sure it's possible since people have made custom portraits and battle sprites before. It would just be REALLY difficult. But yeah I'm sure it can be done since RotDD did it.

RotDD is a terrible example of what can be done with the editor.Making alternate battle sprites would be easy and is supported in the editor.Making alternate portraits I don't believe is supported. While hypothetically possible, you'd have to learn some assembly and program that in yourself.

Yeah that wasn't exactly the best example since they're kind of a different game on a different console. ^^;

EDIT: @Erikin84: I think you should add the new patch versions but still keep the old ones on the first page. Some people might have taste preferences and such.

DOUBLE EDIT: 1.4 looks weird in the editor. And for some reason it crashes my game shortly during the dialogue with Varios in a new game.

TRIPLE EDIT: Apparently 1.4 is not compatible with the Playable Kane mod. You need a normal non-modded SF1 Rom for it to work.

Runesamurai wrote:I too wondered this. I'm sure it's possible since people have made custom portraits and battle sprites before. It would just be REALLY difficult. But yeah I'm sure it can be done since RotDD did it.

RotDD is a terrible example of what can be done with the editor.Making alternate battle sprites would be easy and is supported in the editor.Making alternate portraits I don't believe is supported. While hypothetically possible, you'd have to learn some assembly and program that in yourself.

Yeah that wasn't exactly the best example since they're kind of a different game on a different console. ^^;

EDIT: @Erikin84: I think you should add the new patch versions but still keep the old ones on the first page. Some people might have taste preferences and such.

DOUBLE EDIT: 1.4 looks weird in the editor. And for some reason it crashes my game shortly during the dialogue with Varios in a new game.

TRIPLE EDIT: Apparently 1.4 is not compatible with the Playable Kane mod. You need a normal non-modded SF1 Rom for it to work.

I have tested it and it works fine, i went through Varios' starting dialogue with no crashing. and you'll have to be more specific with the "weird" in editor.